


hold my hand and act like you care

by urwelcome_forthis



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Eventual Smut, F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Lillian is a good mom, Minor Alex Danvers/Kelly Olsen, Supercorp endgame, because lena deserves one good thing, fake dating au, loosely based on the 90s melissa joan hart classic drive me crazy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-17
Packaged: 2021-02-19 13:33:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22711606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/urwelcome_forthis/pseuds/urwelcome_forthis
Summary: "We need an easy out clause." Kara said as she sat down on the edge of Lena's bed, hand held out with painkillers to mitigate the other woman's hangover."Obviously." Lena scoffed as she took the offered pills."We can't do this halfway, you said that people need to buy it." Kara nibbled at her bottom lip as she contemplated all that would entail.Lena shrugged. "No half measures then. We go all in."Kara nodded. "All in."OrA Fake Dating AU based loosely (incredibly loosely) on Drive Me Crazy (1999)
Relationships: Alex Danvers/Kelly Olsen, Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Comments: 22
Kudos: 192





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i made the drastic mistake of watching a fake dating movie classic and now its a supercorp fic 
> 
> find me on tumblr @urwelcomeforthis
> 
> all mistakes are mine
> 
> Edited to add: this is a supercorp fake dating AU! This chapter is setting it up to get there I promise lol

Moving L-Corp to National City as they prepared to go public had been a headache, but it was nothing compared to trying to find a suitable and safe place to live in her new hometown. 

Lillian had offered to buy her any place she wanted but had backed off when Lena explained she wanted to feel as though she had earned it when she one day bought her own top floor penthouse with money she had made on her own. 

The pride on Lillian’s face after that discussion told Lena she had made the right choice. After a long search she finally found a place in a secure and newly built building walking distance from her company’s new headquarters, and while it wasn’t quite a penthouse (yet) she only shared her floor with one other tenant, meaning she had ample space and privacy. 

It may not have been the top floor, but it was close, and Lena was able to buy it without dipping into her trust fund or any other Luthor family money, and it filled her with a fuzzy kind of pride, something she was unaccustomed to feeling. 

She and Lillian had spent the majority of Saturday morning supervising the movers as they placed Lena’s furniture and belongings in the rooms they had been directed to. They had blocked out the entire day to supervise the move, at Lillian’s firm insistence. 

(“Lena, one Saturday off will not kill you. I am officially pulling the mom card here – you have to take a break, even if it’s just to make sure you have a place to sleep at night that isn’t in a hotel.” 

Lena had rolled her eyes, but ultimately agreed.) 

Now they stood together on Lena’s balcony, sipping coffee after the last items had been placed in Lena’s guest room. 

“Well now that that’s done, why don’t we go and get some food and explore the area a little?” Lillian asked, and Lena shrugged in response. 

“Yeah that works. Can we not do something overly fancy? Reporters have been waiting for me at all of our usual places.” While being a Luthor meant Lena had grown up around press interest, the recent turmoil of her personal life becoming tabloid fodder was wholly unwelcome, and she had no desire to play into it.

Lillian placed a consoling arm around Lena’s shoulders. 

“You know, I still have some of your father’s contacts in an old Rolodex somewhere. I could have them take care of Jack for you.” Her mother whispered conspiratorially with an eyebrow arched causing Lena to snort. 

“Not necessary, but the thought is appreciated.” She replied leaning into her mother side. “Can we just get pizza or something? Do what we used to when you’d come visit me at school?” 

Lillian clicked her tongue, but her lips curled into a smile. 

“I guess I could do that for my favorite daughter.” 

“I’m also your only daughter.” Lena laughed as they made their way out of the front door. 

“True, but you’re still my favorite.” Lillian smirked as she pushed the button for the elevator. 

As they stood waiting, the handle on the door of the only other apartment on the floor began to twist and Lena could hear muffled voices yelling from somewhere inside. When the elevator doors slid open, she and Lillian climbed inside, and before she could reach for the button to the lobby floor, the door across from her opened. 

Lena looked on in shock as her eyes met those of the woman who had stumbled out of the entry way belonging to her new neighbor. 

The other woman’s blue eyes widened when they met Lena’s own. As the elevator doors began to close their gazes remained locked on each other, the blonde’s body tilting to remain in contact even as the silver doors in front of Lena continued to slide shut. 

When there was only an inch remaining, Lena heard, more than saw, her name fall from the woman’s lips in surprise. 

“Lena?” The woman whisper-shouted, and Lean felt her eyes widen as her back collided with the wall behind her. 

Lillian had jolted next to her slightly at the sound of her daughter’s name. 

“Who was that?” She asked as she took in Lena’s shocked face. 

“Kara.” Lena murmured and Lillian’s eyebrows rose. 

“Danvers? From Midvale? I haven’t heard you mention that name in years. The two of you used to be inseparable.” Lillian mused.

Lena just nodded shakily before clearing her throat with a non-committal shrug, her thoughts not straying from the surprised blue eyes of her former best friend. 

It had been years since Lena had spoken to Kara, and somehow, she had picked the one apartment in all of National City that made the two of them neighbors. 

Fuck. 

\--

Kara stood dumbfounded in the hall staring blankly at the closed doors of the elevator that had carried Lena Luthor away from her only moments ago. 

It had been six years since she had even spoken to Lena, let alone laid eyes on her. 

She heard her apartment door shut behind her, before Alex walked up next to where she stood rooted to her spot, unmoving. 

“Earth to Kara.” She heard Alex say before she was jarred out of her thoughts by a hand waving in her face. 

She shook her head once, as if to clear it and glanced at where her sister stood next to her. 

“Sorry, just got lost in a thought for a minute.” She offered with a sheepish grin, knowing she was successful in side-tracking her sister from her inner turmoil when the older woman roller her eyes. 

“Well find your way back because I’m hungry and Winn is waiting for us downstairs.” Alex calmly walked to the elevator and pushed the door button, before looking over her shoulder at the other door at the end of the hallway. 

“Have you met your new neighbor yet?” She asked and Kara felt her own heartbeat pick up slightly. She shrugged her shoulders. 

“I’m sure I will. It’s a pretty small hallway.” She tried to be nonchalant as she stepped into the elevator as the doors dinged open. 

“I wonder who it is.” Alex said as she mindlessly began toying with her phone. 

“I’ve got an idea.” Kara mumbled under her breath so Alex wouldn’t hear, not quite ready for the conversation that would follow if she voiced her very recent and surprising discovery. 

They stepped out into the lobby moments later, greeted by a frantic Winn. 

“Holy fuck guys you won’t believe who I just saw walking out of the building!” He gushed in excitement, and Kara felt her stomach drop. 

“Lena. Fucking. Luthor. The CEO of L-Corp!” His eyebrows were almost to his hairline as he tried and failed to keep his voice level. 

Kara grunted noncommittally as Winn’s gaze turned to her. 

“Dude if she lives here that’s absolutely insane, and your number one mission is to befriend her so I can get a tour of their labs.” 

“I’m sure she doesn’t need me poking around in her business Winn. She gets enough of that from everyone else.” Kara replied, steadfastly ignoring the piercing gaze coming from her sister. 

“Kara….” Alex began, stopping only when Kara subtlety shook her head once. 

Not now. (Not ever if she could help it.) 

Forcing a wide smile on her face she hooked her arm through Winn’s, practically dragging him to the lobby doors. 

“Come on now, you were just complaining about how hungry you were a few minutes ago.” She called over her shoulder to her sister, ignoring the deep sigh and look of concern tossed her way. 

In a single day, her entire world had tilted on its axis. 

Lena fucking Luthor _indeed._

\--

Lena had successfully avoided Kara for the rest of the weekend after Lillian had dropped her off after lunch on Saturday. 

She knew, realistically, she wouldn’t be able to avoid her forever (probably) but she wasn’t ready to open that particular Pandora’s box just yet. 

Ever since she had broken off her engagement with Jack her personal life had been in utter turmoil. It had been months since she caught him in bed with another woman, and still she could not so much as pass a news stand without seeing paparazzi photos of herself or him and his new girlfriend gracing the covers of gossip magazines. 

It hadn’t helped when it was announced that L-Corp was officially relocating to National City from Metropolis. 

Never mind that the move had been planned and rumored for months before the breakup. Gossip columnists had a heyday speculating that the move had been motivated by Lena Luthor’s broken heart. 

So, no. She wasn’t quite ready to confront her ex-best friend in their shared hallway at this time, which is how she found herself sneaking out of her own home at 5 a.m. Monday morning to head into work stupidly early. 

She felt herself flood with relief when she finally exited the lobby doors unscathed, stepping into her chauffeured town car. 

Her early morning allowed her some uninterrupted time in her lab at the very least, before she had to deal with the more pressing matters of owning and running her own business. 

Unfortunately, her dumpster fire of a personal life was the topic of choice in the meeting she now found herself in with her PR Department. 

She pinched the bridge of her nose between her fingers and took a deep breath as she tried to digest what she had just been told by her very nervous Public Relations department head. 

“You’re telling me my months old breakup could somehow hurt our opening stock prices when we go public?” She worked hard to keep her voice level, but could hear the hard edge to her words, nonetheless. 

“Unfortunately, yes, Miss. Luthor.” The man – Adams – said quickly. “It’s not remotely fair and it reeks of sexism I know, but with you being the main and very public face of L-Corp, potential shareholders are looking for stability not just from the company, but from you as well.” 

Lena sighed, deep and heavy. 

“And what do you suggest I do about it?” She asked, almost afraid of what the answer would be. 

“Well, we should handle it like any celebrity in this situation would.” Adams replied and Lena bit back a scoff. 

“I’m hardly a movie star.” She insisted, not quite holding back a roll of her eyes. 

“While that may be, you are a celebrity Miss. Luthor, so the fix is one in the same. We suggest a relationship – one that appears real to everyone outside of this room – until the gala at the end of the month. Then you can quietly part ways with whomever it is.” The man shifted in his seat, watching Lena’s reaction carefully. 

“What do you think?” She asked turning to Jess, who was seated to her left. 

Jess clicked her teeth and took a moment before responding. 

“I think it sounds incredibly stupid which means he’s probably right.” Her secretary offered as she crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. 

Lena groaned. 

“Who did you have in mind?” She turned her attention back to Adams, who sighed in quiet relief at her acquiescence to his plan. 

“Well there are several viable candidates in National City. My first suggestion would be Catco’s acting editor in chief, James Olsen.” He leaned forward as he slid a thick folder towards Lena. 

Opening it, her eyes fell on a photo of Mr. Olsen that accompanied a concise personal profile. 

“Well at least he’s handsome.” She intoned as she began to flip through the other candidates in the packet. 

“I will not be dating Veronica Sinclair, fake relationship or not. Or frankly any of the other candidate in this file.” She stated as she reached the last profile. 

“James Olsen it is then.” Jess said from next to her and Lena nodded. 

“I guess so. Let’s hope he’s a willing participant.” 

“About that.” Adams began and Lena raised an eyebrow waiting for him to continue. 

“It may be best, for this to fully work, if Mr. Olsen doesn’t quite know the exact details of this plan. If it were to get out, it could be disastrous.” He finished, looking appropriately sheepish at what he was suggesting. 

“You want me to fake a relationship with James Olsen, without his knowledge?” She asked in disbelief shaking her head. 

“No, Miss. Luthor nothing quite that uncouth. I want you to _appear_ to be dating Mr. Olsen. You can pitch it to him however you like – needing a date for the gala, wanting to get to know National City better, what have you. Go to some dinners with him, perhaps ask him to the Mayor’s annual founding day party, just be sure to be photographed together and let the rumor mill get going.” 

Lena felt her stomach turn at the thought of dragging someone innocent into her world in order to get the good initial offering on the stock market L-Corp so desperately needed but she also wouldn’t let Jack and his little floozy drag everything she had worked so hard for to the ground. 

“Fine. I don’t like it, but I can do it.” 

\--

Jess arranged for Lena to have lunch with Mr. Olsen that day, in her office per Lena’s request. 

She was unwilling to drag Mr. Olsen into the tabloids just yet, and to any reporters watching it would seem like a business meeting. 

She had been surprised as they ate and talked that she actually found him to be quite charming and easy to be around. 

When he offered, unprompted, to show her around National City, she only felt slightly guilty to accept his offer. 

“That would be wonderful, actually.” She told him as they sat amicably across from each other. 

He smiled a wide and toothy grin, and she thought for a fleeing moment that maybe this plan wouldn’t be _that_ terrible to enact. 

“If you’re being serious, I could use someone to show me a good lunch spot near our respective places of business.” She continued, watching as James lit up at her words. 

“Well then, Miss. Luthor, I’m your man.” He chuckled and she smiled easily in return. 

“It’s Lena, please. Would Thursday work for you?” She asked and when he readily agreed, telling her he would pick her up at noon, she felt a tinge of relief. 

Maybe this wouldn’t be so hard after all. 

\--  
“So, are we gonna talk about it?” Alex asked as Kara collapsed on her sister’s couch that afternoon. 

“Talk about what?” She replied, feigning ignorance and closing her eyes. She didn’t have to see Alex to feel her glare. 

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe the Lena Luthor size elephant in the fucking room?” Alex quipped sarcastically from where she stood in the kitchen and Kara sighed. 

“Lena is hardly the size of an elephant, and no, we are not.” 

“Winn said James had lunch with her today.” Alex said as she walked over to join Kara, two beers in hand. 

“Well whoop-dee-doo for James.” Kara grumbled as she took the proffered beer in her sister’s hand. 

Alex rolled her eyes. “Are you mad at James because he had lunch with Lena, or because he didn’t stop Snapper from almost firing you?” 

“James is a big boy; he can have lunch with whoever he wants.” Was all Kara said before taking a pull of her drink. “Besides, it’s not like I need the paycheck, so if Snapper had fired me it would have been fine, I don’t really care.” 

“It’s ok to be upset Kara. I know how much you love your job, and that story you put up on the blog was great reporting.” Alex looked at her softly and Kara deflated. 

“It wouldn’t have been right for James to step in anyways. Plus, he’s apologized like 30 times already.” 

Alex just nodded, seemingly content to sit in the silence and wait Kara out. 

After a long moment, Kara groaned theatrically. “It’s just, of all the gin joints in all the world, you know? I never thought I would see her again.” She began to pull at the label on her bottle, and Alex threw an arm around her shoulder. 

“I know kid. Just smile and nod politely when you see her in the hall and be done with it.” 

Kara nodded against her sister’s shoulder before sighing once more. “Yeah, that’s my plan.” 

When her phone dinged from its place on the coffee table, she extracted herself from her sisters embrace and leaned forward to retrieve it. 

“Crap.” She said as she read the text message. “I forgot I’m supposed to meet Siobhan at that new club downtown tonight.”

“Gross.” Alex grumbled beside her, and Kara shoved her indignantly. 

“Be nice.” She warned as Alex stuck out her tongue. 

“Fine. Better be sure you’re on time to go clubbing with your not at all spoiled not at all bitch of a girlfriend.” 

Kara shot her a look before tossing her phone back on the table. 

“She’s not that spoiled.” She offered weakly. 

Alex smirked around the lip of her bottle. “Not gonna refute the bitch part huh?” 

“I like that she’s a little bitchy.” Kara lied as she ran a hand through her hair and lifted one shoulder in a half shrug. 

“Ugh that’s a sex thing isn’t it? Alex shuddered and Kara laughed. 

“I will neither confirm nor deny.” Kara grinned. 

“I repeat: Gross.” 

\--

Lena returned to her lab after the workday officially ended, losing herself in her research as she was wont to do. Her original plan had been to leave around 9, as she figured that was a safe time to return home and successfully avoid Kara’s presence. 

So, she worked and got sucked in until she finally felt the need to spare a glance at her watch. She was surprised when it showed that it was nearing midnight, and sighing she rubbed her eyes, ruining her eye makeup. 

“Well, even later is probably better.” She said to herself as she began to clean up the lab and sent a text to her driver. 

A few minutes later she slid into her car with a groan of appreciation for the supple leather seat beneath her and began to mentally go through her agenda for the next day. 

She thanked her driver when they pulled up in front of her building, climbing out of the car and heading inside. When she was finally alone in the elevator, she removed her heels, relief immediately coursing through her bones. 

That relief quickly faded when the doors opened on her floor to reveal that she wasn’t alone in the hallway. 

Kara was there with a woman whose back was turned to Lena. She wore a tight short black dress and heels, while Kara was dressed in a pair of ripped jeans and a polo. Lena quietly began to creep out of the elevator and down the hall towards her door, hoping to not draw attention. 

“I just don’t fucking understand why we had to leave so early.” The woman in the dress spat at Kara, who clenched her jaw. 

“We weren’t really given a choice in the matter Siobhan.” Kara snapped as she patted her pockets looking for her keys. 

“They were in our fucking booth Kara. And you could have backed me up you know. You’re such a goddamned pushover.” The woman, Siobhan, huffed as she leaned against the wall fingers flying across her phone’s screen. 

“I’m done fighting about this.” Kara said in a low tone as she leaned down and pulled a spare key out from under her mat. She unlocked the door and flung it open. “Get inside.” 

“Whatever.” Siobhan bit out as she stalked past Kara into the apartment. 

Lena had reached her own door at the same time, hoping she had gone unnoticed by the sparring couple. It wasn’t until she heard Kara’s soft “hey” that she realized she hadn’t been as stealthy as she hoped. 

Turning slowly, she locked eyes with Kara, and her heart beat rapidly in her chest. 

“I’m sorry about that. We’ll try and keep it down from now on.” Kara told her as she brought a hand up to subconsciously rub at the back of her neck, embarrassed by her girlfriend’s behavior. 

“Oh – I, it’s ok. Thank you.” Lena stuttered out a response, a blush rising to her cheeks at her inelegance. 

Kara looked like she was about to say something more when a shout from inside the apartment interrupted her. 

“Kara, what the fuck are you doing?” Her girlfriend shouted and Kara closed her eyes as she grit her teeth. 

“I’m coming!” She called, before turning back towards Lena. 

“Goodnight. Sorry again.” She said apologetically before she disappeared inside, the door closing with a soft click behind her. 

Lena took a deep steadying breath before she walked into her own apartment, leaning back against the wall once she was safely closed inside. 

Trying (and failing) to not think about Kara, she got ready for bed, tossing and turning as she worked to get comfortable in her satin sheets. 

She released a sigh as she finally came to rest on her back, eyes unblinking as she stared up at the ceiling in her dark room. 

She wouldn’t let herself think about the reasons she and Kara had fallen apart all those years ago, not with everything she had ever dreamed about so close on the horizon. 

Now was not the time for a personal breakdown, especially not one she had successfully fought for six years. 

When she finally closed her eyes, it was with the resolve to keep Kara at arm’s length, no matter how hard that would prove to be. 

She had to.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the last chapter of build up before we get to the fake dating part of the fake dating au, gotta start to resolve some of that tension between kara and lena before they can agree to pretend to be in love lol
> 
> and i know siobhan sucks but thats not the underlying point of those interactions (also she's very much inspired by an ex because a girl loves to project) 
> 
> find me on tumblr @urwelcomeforthis
> 
> as always, all mistakes are my own

Thursday came up fairly quickly on Lena, and before she knew it, she was walking side by side with James Olsen to a small but upscale lunch place only a few blocks away from L-Corp. 

They took their seats and chatted about their respective days, and Lena found once again that the man was incredibly easy to like. She hoped they would be able to actually becomes friends one day, once this charade she was keeping up had ended. 

When their food arrived, she watched as James seemed to mull over what he wanted to say for a long moment, and she felt herself tense. 

“So, Lena. I hope you don’t mind me asking, off the record, of course, but rumor has it that the Nano-tech L-Corp has been working on is ready to enter human trials.”

Lena chewed her food slowly for a moment before carefully nodding in the affirmative. 

“Yes, we are. I’m only confirming that to you as a friend, however. I hope whomever your source is has not told anyone else.” 

“They won’t. I know you want to corner the market on that kind of tech, the secret is safe, don’t worry.” James sheepishly held his hands up in a placating gesture. 

Lena sighed. “Yes, we do want to corner that market, but its more than that. I’ve overseen this project personally from its very inception. My competitors, if they found out how far along we were, would rush their own similar projects, and I fear it would have disastrous results in the end. It’s incredibly complicated technology and to do it wrong would be to do more harm than good. I intend to cure cancer James, and part of that is to offer the tech at a discounted price to help people. But it is absolutely imperative that the technology be perfect first.” 

James seemed to consider her words for a moment, before smiling at her. 

“Well it won’t appear in CatCo until you’re ready for it to. That’s an admirable goal, Lena. A close friend of mine lost someone to cancer a while ago and knowing you may be able to save people like them from that heartache is pretty incredible.” 

“Thank you, James, truly.” Lena flushed slightly at the praise and lifted another forkful of food to her mouth. 

Yes, she really hoped they could remain friends, in the end. 

\----

Kara checked her watch for what felt like the hundredth time since the hostess had shown her to her table. She was about to throw in the towel and head back to work when Siobhan finally walked in the door. 

She tried to swallow down her annoyance at her girlfriend, sure she had an excuse for being so late, and stood up to greet her. 

“Hey.” She leaned over to kiss Siobhan on the cheek before sitting back down, as the other woman looked around at their surroundings in obvious distaste. 

“Couldn’t you have picked someplace nicer for lunch?” Siobhan complained in greeting, as she nudged the chopsticks in front of herself with disdain. 

And just like that, the annoyance flared back to life in Kara’s chest. 

“This place is nice, and you know it’s my favorite.” She worked to keep herself from snapping, aware of the other restaurant patrons within hearing distance. 

“For someone with money your tastes are so low rent Kara.” Siobhan rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms and Kara felt a lick of anger flare up her spinal cord. 

“My tastes are fine, you’re just a snob. And you’re late. I only have an hour for lunch you know that.” She reached out and grabbed her water, taking a hasty sip, watching as Siobhan’s eyes darkened across from her. 

“I was fucking busy, and this –”she paused to point a finger to her body, moving it up towards her face, “- doesn’t just happen you know. It takes time.” 

“It’s 12:30, and you don’t work. You could have been here 30 minutes ago if you had cared enough to be. And I know I takes time, but you know I don’t expect it, not for lunch, not for anything.” Kara ground out, tired of this argument they always seemed to have. 

“Maybe it’s not all for you babe.” Siobhan snarked in a haughty tone. 

Kara swallowed and took a long breath in through her nose, refusing to rise to the obvious bait being tossed her way. 

“Let’s just eat.” She said instead, lifting her hand to call the waiter, but putting it back down when she heard Siobhan’s snort of derision. 

“God you wouldn’t even care, would you? I could do anything, and you’d just roll over and take it.” She rolled her eyes again, flicking the menu over with a roll of her wrist. 

“Me not wanting to make a scene is not the same as just rolling over and taking it. Just like me not wanting to get into a fist fight in a packed nightclub over a misunderstanding wasn’t either.” Kara reasoned, keeping her voice even and low. 

“Of course, you would fucking bring that up. You’re such a child.” Siobhan sneered, not bothering to keep her volume down. 

“I’m not the childish one right now, Siobhan.” Kara replied, wishing she had a drink stronger than water in front of her. 

“Fuck. Whatever. I’m done with this Kara. I don’t want to be here in this shitty restaurant with you right now.” She said as she began making motions to collect her purse and leave. 

Kara knew this game well enough by now to know her girlfriend wanted her to give in and either cause a scene or take her somewhere more to her expensive tastes, but for the first time she didn’t want to play along. 

She was tired. The relationship was a bad one – she knew that, she wasn’t stupid, and her fear of being alone wasn’t enough to keep it going anymore. 

“Then go.” She said simply with a shrug of her shoulders watching as Siobhan’s eyes snapped to her face. 

“If I go Kara, it’s for good this time, and not just from lunch.” Siobhan raised an eyebrow, a smirk on her lips, like she expected the threat to be the final nail in the coffin that was Kara’s resolve. 

“Yeah, I know. And I still think you should.” Kara said instead of giving in, pursing her own lips. 

Siobhan’s mouth fell open for a moment, unused to not getting her way, before her characteristic sneer graced her features once more. 

“God, what a waste.” Was all she said before she turned and walked out, not sparing a backwards glance. 

Kara watched her go, waiting to feel sadness or solemnity at ending things so abruptly, but instead all she felt was like a weight had been lifted off of her chest, allowing her to breath clean air for the first time in a long time. 

When she thought about telling Alex, she laughed quietly to herself, already envisioning how ecstatic her older sister would be. 

\----

The source of the leak hadn’t been too hard for Lena to find once she got back to her office, all it had taken was a request for a list of the names of those involved in the project and she had been able to quickly surmise what had happened. 

As it turned out, James’s sister had just been brought on to the project in the last few weeks as the lead psychologist for those who had volunteered to participate in the human trials aspect of the testing phase. Lena had interviewed her personally and let her fears of a substantial leak subside for the time being. 

She was a scientist herself and could understand the excitement Kelly Olsen understandably had over the project and its implications. It was hard enough for Lena herself to keep quiet about it at times, and had Lex still been alive she would have told him as well. 

Content with her decision to not pursue the issue any further, Lena set aside the list of names and turned her attention to the emails that littered her inbox. She had only gotten through two when her intercom buzzed. 

“Miss. Luthor? I have James Olsen on line one.” Jess’s voice filtered into the office loud and clear, and Lena turned her attention to her phone. 

“You can put him through Jess.” She responded, waiting for the phone to ring once before picking up. 

“Lena?” The deep voice of James came through and Lena smiled to herself. 

“James. To what do I owe the pleasure?” 

“Uh, well, I don’t know if you’ve seen, but a few photos of us at lunch have been posted online and are making their rounds.” He sounded nervous, and Lena cringed internally. 

“I’m so sorry James. I should have warned you that may happen. I do hope the accompanying stories are kind at least.” She tried to swallow down her guilt as she talked, but found it wasn’t quite working. 

“They are, but I can’t say my girlfriend is particularly thrilled.” He chuckled in response. 

Lena’s heart felt like it stopped beating in her chest for a moment. 

James had a girlfriend, and while Lena didn’t want to be in a romantic entanglement for real with James, she had gotten to know him with the hope that it would appear that way in order to save L-Corp’s initial public offering. 

She was going to _kill_ Mike Adams and his shit research team. 

“God, James, I’m so, so sorry.” She was honest in her apology, even if James didn’t understand or know half of what she was truly apologizing for. 

“Lena, its fine I swear. I explained to her how we’re just friends and she’s cool with it. She honestly just enjoys giving me a hard time, but if you’d like to make my life slightly easier, she’s coming into town this weekend and we’re having a little get together with some friends. I know you and Lucy would hit it off.” James was earnest in his invitation, but Lena felt herself pause. 

“James, I don’t know, I don’t want to intrude-” she began but was cut off quickly. 

“Lena you wouldn’t be intruding, I promise. We’re friends right, or on our way to becoming friends, I hope. And I know being new to a city can be daunting, so come and meet some great people, no pressure. You can even bring anyone you like!” James said and Lena, for everything inside of her telling her to say no, found she wanted to say yes instead. 

“Ok, ok, James, you win. I’d love to.” 

\----

When Lena arrived home that night, her mind was still on the last few hours she had spent in her lab, working on a portable water filter to expand the availability of clean drinking water globally. It had been a nice reprieve after she had stormed in the PR department and laid them all very carefully to waste for their grievous misstep. 

She was so absorbed in thought that she almost didn’t notice the hand that darted out to catch the elevator door as it closed. 

When the owner of said hand happened to be Kara Danvers, however, all of Lena’s thoughts screeched to a shattering and sudden halt. 

She moved over to make room, hand tightening around the strap of her purse where it sat on her shoulder. She watched as Kara leaned over and pressed the button for their floor, despite the fact that it was already lit, and clenched her teeth. 

When the doors began to close again, Kara cleared her throat and glanced in Lena’s direction, taking up space on the opposite side of the elevator. 

“Fancy meeting you here.” Kara tried to joke, but it fell flat, sucked up into the vacuum that now existed between them. 

The silence was thick, and to Lena, it felt like it lasted hours, not milliseconds. Painstakingly, she released the death grip she had around the leather in her hand, before inclining her head towards Kara. 

“I didn’t know, when I bought the apartment, that you were the other tenant, Kara.” She spoke quietly, her eyes flickering to the panel at the top of the elevator that indicated the floor they were on. 

She saw Kara tense out of the corner of her eye. 

“It’s ok, Lena. It’s not like I hate you or anything. It was a little shocking but, it’s nice to know my neighbor’s not, like, a psychopath or something.” Kara once again tried for some levity, mollified when she noticed the corner of Lena’s mouth quirk up. 

The doors to the elevator opened and they exited one after another, coming to stand awkwardly in the hallway, a few feet of space between them. 

“I would understand, if you did, you know.” Lena said, her eyes boring a hole in the ground near her own heeled feet. 

“If I did what?” Kara asked, confusion evident in her voice, head cocked to the side. 

“Hate me. Or dislike me, at the very least.” Lena answered with a shrug, looking up through her lashes to gauge Kara’s reaction. 

Kara’s head was shaking side to side, her brow furrowed and for a moment it seemed like she might reach out to Lena, but she began fidgeting with her fingers instead. 

“No, Lena. I’ve never hated you. I know that letter I wrote must have made it seem that way, but I was just hurting, and I took it out on you.” Kara pushed her hair behind her ears, acutely aware of the apartment door behind her back and the safety it offered. 

“I still have it, you know.” Lena offered in a near whisper, and Kara’s mouth fell open in surprise. 

“What? God, Lena why?” 

Lena shrugged. 

“You weren’t wrong in what you said. I did abandon you. I – when Jeremiah got sick….” She paused for a moment to gather her breath, but Kara broke in before she could continue. 

“Please, Lena, let’s not do this.” She said, blue eyes wide, but stopping when Lena held up a single, shaking hand. 

“Kara, please. For six years I’ve wanted to talk to you, say all the things I should have said then. You deserve to know why.” She smoothed her clammy hands down the front of her skirt nervously, giving Kara time to rebuff her, but when the other woman just nodded, she settled herself with a deep intake of air. 

“When Jeremiah got sick, I couldn’t bear to come over or come around. It was too hard, and I was too scared, because I had seen it before, and losing someone else I loved was suffocating. I just wanted to cry all the time, every time I saw him, or you, or Alex, or Eliza. And when you and I were together, even away from it all, it was like you weren’t even there – you didn’t talk, you didn’t move. So, when you left school and didn’t come back, I took the coward’s way out from the pain, because I didn’t know how to deal with it. You didn’t deserve that, and I’ll always regret it. I’m sorry, Kara.” She finished with a shuddering breath, willing the tears in her glassy eyes to not fall. 

Kara stayed silent for a long moment, eyes intently tracing over Lena’s face. 

“I think I always knew why you went away, Lena, even then. I knew about Lionel and Lex, and everything that had happened, but I was too angry and sad to contextualize it at the time. That still doesn’t excuse the things I wrote in that letter. You should burn it. It’s been six years; we deserve to move on from all that.” She gave Lena a half shrug, as she shoved her hands deep into her jean pockets. 

“Maybe.” Lena replied before taking a single step back, more than ready to drown herself in a bottle of wine. 

“For what it’s worth, I forgive you.” Kara quietly added as she pulled her keys out of her pocket, her gaze lingering on Lena. 

“I – thank you, Kara.” Lena stuttered, not feeling deserving of the forgiveness Kara had so willingly given her. 

“No thanks necessary Lena. Have a good night, ok?” Kara smiled at her, as she moved to unlock her door. 

“You too, Kara.” Lena replied, watching as Kara disappeared into her apartment with a small wave in Lena’s direction. 

As she unsteadily walked to her own door, her blood roaring in her veins, Lena imagined a world where she hadn’t run away from Kara in her time of need, where they still spent every waking moment tied to each other’s sides. 

Only when she was finally seated on her couch, a glass of wine in hand, did she let the tears she had been holding back fall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the james thing was just a fun misdirect. in the movie this is based on melissa joan hart's character only ends up fake dating her ex best friend because the guy she wanted to date finds a girlfriend but my supercorp heart didn't want to follow that exact storyline

**Author's Note:**

> that scene in the parent trap where nick parker sees elizabeth for the first time again in an elevator absolutely inspired the scene where lena and kara see each other (in the first chapter since this is appearing in the end notes for the second chapter as well)


End file.
